Role of the Local Academy Committee

Members of Stoke Minster CofE Primary Local Academy Committee (Governors)

Local Academy Committees (LAC)/Governors are one of the largest volunteer groups in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the LAC is important to the effectiveness of a school. Ofsted has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management which include the LAC/governing body.

What do Members of LACs do?

The role of the LAC is a strategic one. Its key functions are to:

 set the local aims and objectives for the school (within the overall Trust agenda)

 set the policies for achieving those aims and objectives

 set the targets for achieving those aims and objectives

 monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making towards achievement of its aims and objectives

 be a source of challenge and support to the Principal/Headteacher (a critical friend)

Schools that are Academies in a Multi-Academy Trust are different from maintained schools. The Chair of Governors is no longer legally responsible for everything in the school. The Trust is the employer of the staff and bears legal responsibility. This means LACs must comply with Directives from the Trust. The Trust also reserves the right to appoint the Principal and the Chair of the Local Governing Body.

We try to resist the temptation to think in terms of people when we are exploring whom to have on our Local Academy Committee. We are a Church of England school and the Christian Distinctiveness is very important to us and guides much of what we do. As a Local Academy Committee we are more interested in the right skill sets, attitudes and values held by potential members; those who have a passion for learning, education in its broadest sense and a love for the community in which we serve.

LAC Members (Governors) need skills such as:

 an understanding and ability to actively promote and monitor Christian Distinctiveness within our community

 strategic and budget planning

 analytical ability

 interpersonal skills

 professional, high-quality debate

 an ability to focus on the bigger picture and to relate this to goals and potential strategies for school improvement

 an understanding that we are part of a larger educational community who will support us and whom we support

Although our Trust has many links to other Trusts, the Department for Education, Ofsted, universities and the Diocese of Lichfield our school also has its local links that the Trust encourage us to develop. The Stoke 6 network of local schools are top of our list: our Principal, Staff and the Chair of the LAC have regular meeting to share best practice.

The LAC has significant autonomy from both the Trust and Local Authority but with this comes responsibility. Crucially, this means creating robust accountability for Academy leaders by using and being familiar with objective data on the performance of pupils, teachers and finances; being aware of and be able to use other sources of information to create an informed narrative around school effectiveness. Basically, our job is to ask the right questions. It means ensuring resources are allocated to strategic priorities. It also means ensuring that schools prepare pupils for the next phase of their life: build up their resilience against negative influences and develop other key attributes that will serve them well in a complex world. We will ensure our school implements robust Safeguarding policies and practices so that the safety of all children is at the very heart of daily life. Our task is to monitor the robust application of practice such as the Prevent duty, for example, and to ensure British Values are consistently upheld in the context of a multi faith, but distinctively Christian school community.

How do we do this? Members of the LAC attend formal meetings every half term. At these meetings we examine the Principal’s report, which details the work of the school, and ask questions to better understand where the school is on its journey. Questions are asked to elicit information about the impact of school actions, policies and procedures on school development and effectiveness.

In addition to this, they use comparison techniques to understand how well the school is doing against schools of a similar nature, both nationally and locally. The Members also visit the school for Learning Walks and those interested in a particular subject (Link Members) will meet with the subject leader to better understand how the school is progressing towards identified areas for improvement. Members examine the findings and ask questions to better understand the circumstances that led to the conclusions drawn. Additional monitoring activities may include interviews with children to capture their views about the school, its strengths and weaknesses, or work scrutiny to check standards. Members also volunteer to listen to children read, giving them a unique insight into the workings of the school.

The Chair of the LAC has weekly meetings with the Principal to understand issues that might arise. If it is a serious issue the Chair visits as soon as possible.

The school undergoes scrutiny from external agencies, including Ofsted, St Chad’s Trust, the Diocese of Lichfield, DfE, the Regional Schools Commissioner and Her Majesty’s Inspector of Education. The school voluntarily subjects itself to interim scrutiny by external educationalists to seek objective views about its own self evaluation. The Principal and Academy Staff regularly undergo training (as do Members of the LAC) and use evidence from research to drive the school improvement process, using endorsed and authenticated best practice models only. All the information from these external sources are collated, examined and discussed by Academy Staff and Members of the LAC.

This continuous cycle of monitoring and evaluation is to ensure the children and other learners in the Academy’s care get the best possible education and are kept safe. We take Safeguarding seriously and we believe that your children will benefit from their time with Stoke Minster CofE Primary Academy.